Abstract. The informal care for individuals with severe mental illness is typically viewed as a family responsibility. Thus, it is frequently excluded from the evaluations of the negative disease outcomes. The burden of informal care can be evaluated quantitatively in terms of objective and subjective burden using a variety of burden assessment scales. However, qualitative research gives more in-depth information on the content, meaning and essence of providing ongoing care for severely mentally ill person. The article presents a qualitative research evaluating the burden of informal care for individuals with schizophrenia and affective disorders in real clinical practice. Despite some differences in the content, common patterns of underlying burden emerge in both diagnostic groups.

Key words: qualitative research, informal care, burden of informal care, schizophrenia, affective disorders

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